[ad_1]
Botafogo did not play badly against Internacional in Beira-Rio and can attribute the 2-1 loss to Yuri Alberto’s controversial goal, confirmed by insecure referee Caio Max Augusto Vieira.
The black and white statement is fair, as winger Kevin clearly did not touch the ball to get it into play. If he kicked forward and caught a teammate in favorable conditions to enter the rival area, it is very likely that Caio stopped the attack.
But refereeing errors, even with the video feature, are part of football and points can get in the way. The problem is that Botafogo already lives, in the Brazilian’s 25th round, a drama to stay in Serie A. There are only three wins, 11 draws and 11 losses. Flashlight and misuse of 26%.
If Sport beat Coritiba on the Ilha do Retiro, the Rio de Janeiro team will be eight points from 16th place, first on Z-4. I mean, it would take the same three wins to get over it. Considering the “cut-off score” of 45 points, you need 25 more in 13 rounds. In math it doesn’t seem so impossible, but in the field …
Botafogo lost a lot of time. With Bruno Lazaroni acting, then the blunder of waiting for Ramón Díaz. Now the misfortune of losing Eduardo Barroca for two games to Covid-19. The sequence of matches was not easy, facing Atlético Mineiro, Flamengo, São Paulo and Internacional. Everything seems to conspire against.
Of course, a recovery can always be on the horizon. The team faces Coritiba, Corinthians, Athletico and Vasco. The tendency is to score, but to clarify it would be necessary to add at least ten points. There is nothing tangible to indicate this, at least for now.
Barroca knows the club and the squad, they have already started to make some changes, valuing the base and making the team work harder and put intensity in all disputes. However, the impression is that any reaction will come late. And the climate in the club, of economic hardship and discouragement with the difficulties to implement the Botafogo S / A project, does not help to renew hopes.
The scenario of possible degradation is terrifying. The fall in TV revenues is strong, there is no longer the protection for a year that made the greats leave Series B and return quickly. Cruzeiro is already struggling to come back and, in the case of Botafogo, it would be even more difficult for not having the same range and pickup capacity. With around 740 million reais in debt, everything is more difficult.
It is possible to complain about what happened in Porto Alegre and even about other referee errors throughout the competition. But the repeated management mistakes of recent years have done much more damage. For example, what is the effective contribution of Honda and Kalou to the team? Hiring that did not provide great technical profitability, much less international visibility and business opportunities.
The club is in agony and is heading towards the third descent. Now with much less prospect of redemption. A pity for the size of the heritage in Brazilian football, of stars who contributed so much to the first three world titles of the national team. After that it is limited to yellowed photos on the wall and contrasts more and more with the harsh reality.
